The Lion Who Saved the Dragons
by bluegoldrose
Summary: There are tales of Ser Jaime Lannister throughout all of Westeros and the Free Cities. He is the knight who killed his king. He will always be remembered for one act of murder. What is not known, is that on the very night he earned the name Kingslayer, he also saved the Targaryen dynasty. In which Rhaenys Targaryen survives.


There are tales of Ser Jaime Lannister throughout all of Westeros and the Free Cities. He is the knight who killed his king. He will always be remembered for one act of murder. What is not known, is that on the very night he earned the name Kingslayer, he also saved the Targaryen dynasty. Rhaenys Targaryen swears that when she is returned to her rightful place as Queen of Westeros, that everyone will learn the truth.

She does not remember much about the day she was spirited away from King's Landing. She remembers a woman telling her to hide. She remembers the young knight in golden armor finding her in her father's room. She remembers asking him why he was bleeding, but does not remember the answer. She remembers being carried through long, dark tunnels. She remembers being placed on a ship with a strange man. She remembers the manse in Pentos that she called home.

Growing up, Rhaenys is told many stories of her true birth. She is told about Aegon I and his sister-wives who conquered Westeros on their dragons. She remembers a black kitten named Balerion, named for the Black Dread. She is also told about House Targaryen, the Faith, and Valyria. She learns to speak Pentoshi, Westerosi, Valyrian, and Braavosi. When she asks if she will ever be able to return to Westeros, the answer is to be patient.

When she is nearly sixteen, she is told to stay out of certain areas of the manse. She has always been free to move about the property, so the restriction is strange to her. Magister Illyrio, her adopted father, has never hidden her from guests. He calls her his daughter and parades her about in fine dresses as though she is a doll. Before all guests, save Lord Varys, she is Rhae.

She knows why she has been told to remain away from certain areas of the manse two weeks after her restrictions are put in place. The Magister is housing her aunt and uncle, Viserys and Daenerys. She confronts her adopted father in tears, wanting to know why he has kept her from her family. He tells her that he has protected her from her early childhood, and wants to make certain that she is safe, even from her own blood.

She understands his concerns when she spies her aunt and uncle in the gardens. They are beautiful to behold, with silver-gold hair and violet eyes. Rhaenys's own hair and eyes are brown, she has been told that she resembles her Martell relatives and not her Targaryen relatives. She watches them intently, excited that her family is so near, but those joys sour when she sees Viserys wrench Daenerys's arm until she cries out in pain.

She gathers the courage to speak with Daenerys shortly before her marriage to Khal Drogo. She does not confess to their kinship, but she memorizes Daenerys's face and the sound of her voice. She wishes that her aunt have a happy marriage. She sees her aunt's smile slip into despair for a moment, but she smiles and thanks Rhae for her kind words.

Rhae's heart is heavy after the departure of her aunt and uncle. News filters to her from all corners of the world. Civil war in Westeros, the Usurper is dead. Viserys murdered by Khal Drogo. Daenerys hatched dragons and is in Qarth. Daenerys has sacked Slaver's Bay. The son of the Usurper is dead, a child now is called King. Winter is coming. On and on the wars rage, until Daenerys reappears atop a black dragon.

The dragon is named Drogon and it has two kin, Viserion and Rhaegal. Twenty year old Rhaenys Targaryen refuses to hide any longer, and reveals herself to her aunt. The younger dragon rider is uncertain of the girl's claim, but wants family more than anything. While the Magister confesses the truth, Rhaenys takes it upon herself to become a dragon rider. Rhaegal, named for her father, submits to her commands readily and takes her to the skies.

The two women fly to war side by side. They fly first to Dorne, securing an alliance with Rhaenys's own family. They next take the Stormlands with almost no resistance. Highgarden bends the knee in writing before the dragons are even close. They bend the knee in person a fortnight after their ravens are received. The two Queens of King's Landing send differing messages. The Lioness refuses to surrender. The Rose sides with her family of Highgarden.

The Dragon Queens fly to King's Landing to settle the matter. Their armies are in the south, but they have no need of the armies to settle matters that two dragons can settle. They land amidst swirls of snow in the home of their forebearers. The Lioness breaks before them, sobbing hysterically. The young Lion King bends before them as gracefully as his Rose Bride.

As the city settles, the man called the Kingslayer bends the knee before the two Queens. Daenerys wants to execute him, he murdered her father. Rhaenys stays her aunt's hand and asks him for the truth.

He speaks slowly, shocked as he gazes at the two young women. He tells them of King Aerys and his desire to burn King's Landing to the ground. He tells them that he killed the king to save the city. He speaks of how he ran from the throne room to find the Princess. He says that she asked why he was bleeding more than once. He told her not to worry about the blood, that she was more important. He tells Queen Rhaenys that he picked her up and ran with her through the dark passages of the Red Keep. He tells her that Lord Varys saw to her safety, and that he never forgot the young daughter of Prince Rhaegar.

The life of Jaime Lannister is spared for ensuring the safety of the Queen as a child. He is retained in King's Landing, though he is removed from the King's Guard. His sister is spared as well, though she falls into madness. She is sequestered in a suite of the Red Keep.

The Queens demand oaths of fealty from the rest of Westeros and their demands are met one region at a time. House Tully is restored to the Riverlands. Casterly Rock is given to the former King Tommen and Queen Margaery. The Tyrells govern Highgarden. The Martells govern Dorne and the Stormlands. Robert Arryn, the young Lord of the Vale, bends the knee before the Dragon Queens. From the Vale emerges Lady Sansa of House Stark. She promises the allegiance of House Stark if their enemies are vanquished and House Stark is restored to Winterfell.

The Queens agree to the Stark girl's requests and continue their journey northward. Their journey is met by a group of men calling themselves the Brotherhood without Banners. They are led by an undead woman who is more than willing to assist with avenging House Stark. They are led to the Twins and the members of House Frey are lined in a row before the Dragon Queens. Each man and woman who is accused in the event known as the Red Wedding is burned alive. The undead woman steps into the flames herself as the last Frey dies.

Further north they find endless mountains of snow and very few people. When they reach Winterfell, they find a young boy seated as the Lord and several of his supplicant lords guarding him. His name is Rickon, the Queens learn. He is the youngest son of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully. He says that he was called King in the North until he declared Stannis Baratheon King. When they ask after Stannis Baratheon, they are told that he is dead and a young man at the Wall is the King.

When the Queens reach the Wall it has been snowing for a solid week. Their clothes are frosted on the outermost layer, but the dragon's heat keeps them warm. The man who leads at the Wall is nothing like they would have expected. He is King in the North, he says, not because he wanted to be but because his one-time half-brother declared him to be king. He would not have accepted when his oaths to the Night's Watch were still valid. He died, he claims. He died and was resurrected by the gods. He shows them his scars and they believe his tale. He then tells them that he is truly the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.

Daenerys does not believe his tale, but she is always ever skeptical. Rhaenys wants to believe him. She wants a brother. She knows that she had a brother once, her brother Aegon. He died as a babe, the night she was whisked away from the Red Keep. She believes the tale he tells. He tells the Queens that he was raised as the son of his uncle. He tells them what he knows of Lyanna Stark: that she died birthing him in the Mountains of Dorne, guarded by the kingsguard. Daenerys remains skeptical until Viserion bonds with him.

Viserion was retrieved from the Dragon Pit in King's Landing after Jon Snow told them about the threat of the Others. The white dragon submits to him as Rhaegal had to Rhaenys and Drogon had to Daenerys. Together, the Queens and King fly beyond the Wall to face their frozen nemesis.

It takes three moons turns for the threat of the Others to end. Spring breaks across the whole of Westeros. Victorious, the Queens and King return to King's Landing. In order to establish a peaceful reign, the three wed as their ancestors did centuries before.

In the historical records of Westeros, Queen Rhaenys, Queen Daenerys, and King Jon, are remembered as the best rulers Westeros had ever known. They are remembered as wise, just, and fair. They are remembered for healing the wounds of the War of Five Kings. They are remembered for their defeat of the Others. In the songs of their era special mention is made of Ser Jaime of House Lannister, the savior of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.

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><p><em>Notes: I hope you enjoyed this story. I came up with the idea and wrote it today... so any mistakes are the fault of not taking time. If I wrote this out fully, it would be a very long story. As I am currently writing what seem to be three very long tales, I wanted to try something different and shorter with this story. I will consider making this tale more detailed and longer and all that fun stuff when my three active ASOIAF tales are finished!<em>


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